(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly Education Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. sponsored to notify the governor that the Legislature does not accept his school funding recommendations for at-risk and bilingual students was advanced Monday by an Assembly panel.
“The current law is designed to determine school funding based on extensive analysis of the cost of delivering a quality education to all students, including low-income students wherever they live in New Jersey. These recommendations seem designed to reduce funding available to at-risk children,” said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). “This proposal seems to lack regard to the implications for at-risk children. That approach is simply unacceptable, especially without any apparent thoughtful analysis.”
During the last session, the Legislature rejected Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed school funding changes targeting at-risk and bilingual students.
That resolution informed Governor Christie that the Legislature objected to recommendations included in his administration’s Educational Adequacy Report that could sharply reduce funding for at-risk children.
That concurrent resolution directed the Commissioner of Education to submit a revised report to the Legislature that responds to these objections.
“To date the governor has failed to provide any information to respond to the Legislature’s specific objections,” Diegnan said. “That’s unacceptable. The parents, children and educators of our state deserve better.”
The new resolution (ACR-118) again notifies the governor that the Legislature objects to school funding recommendations for at-risk and bilingual students.
The bill was advanced by the Assembly Education Committee chaired by Diegnan.
